K-food Shines at Food Expo in Chile

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and KOTRA announced on Oct. 1 that they operated the first Korean pavilion at Espacio Food and Service Santiago 2025 held in Santiago, Chile from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 (local time). This Korean pavilion, themed “K-Food Kingdom Where Tradition Meets Modernity,” was operated as the largest booth in the food expo.

The Korean pavilion was designed as a space encompassing early Korean Wave dramas like “Dae Jang Geum” to the latest K-content such as “K-pop Demon Hunters.” In the Korean food experience zone and cooking zone modeled after Dae Jang Geum, visitors could taste traditional foods such as kimchi, bibimbap, and fermented sauces. The event zone utilizing the Netflix animation “K-pop Demon Hunters” attracted visitors’ attention through participatory content featuring dynamic K-culture images.

At the Korean pavilion, a total of 43 Korean food companies, including 9 companies participating on-site such as Samjin Globalnet, Daesang, and Youngpoong, and 34 companies participating online, promoted K-food products. Major Chilean supermarket buyers also visited the Korean pavilion, conducting about 500 consultations, aiming to achieve contracts worth $2.7 million (about 3.79 billion won) and laying the groundwork for expanding K-food exports in Chile.

The operation of this Korean pavilion aligns with the government’s strategy to expand K-food exports. The Ministry of Agriculture and KOTRA have designated Chile as an emerging strategic nation for agricultural exports in 2025 and are promoting consultations, promotions, and publicity events. As the government aims to achieve $15 billion in K-food exports by 2030, expectations are rising that this event will be an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness and awareness of Korean food in the Latin American market, including Chile, and diversify export markets.

The Ministry of Agriculture stated, “The popularity of K-food is rapidly rising in Latin America, driven by the spread of K-content,” adding, “We will actively support the market expansion of our agri-food companies through one-stop support from market research, branding, consultation, to online store entry.”

Ahn Sung-hee, director of the KOTRA Santiago Trade Center, emphasized, “This Korean pavilion, spanning from early Korean Wave symbolized by Dae Jang Geum to the latest content like ‘K-pop Demon Hunters,’ allowed visitors to directly see and taste the charm of K-food, and is expected to be a stepping stone for export expansion in Latin America.”